Anger on the streets of Athens

Those who participated in the 2008 riots after the shooting of a 15-year-old by police, are now back on the frontlines.

06 Oct 2011 11:33 GMT

In December 2008, 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulus was shot dead by a policeman [Al Jazeera]

The teenager(***)s death plunged Athens, the Greek capital, into three weeks of violent riots [GALLO/GETTY]

On the frontlines of these riots were children; some of them knew Alexandros, a few of them had witnessed his death, all of them felt that he was their friend [GALLO/GETTY]

Giorgos had been with Alexandros just before he was killed. He had just left his friend to go to a party when he heard gunshots. By the time he reached Alexandros he had been shot [Al Jazeera]

Basilis was at home with some friends when they heard a big explosion and then two smaller ones. They assumed it was children playing with firecrackers [Al Jazeera]

Stella, then 14 years old, was playing with friends at a nearby square when Alexandros was shot dead [Al Jazeera]

"It could have been us. These words led students to protest. I am the same age, I might have been there," says Stella [EPA]

"Without reason someone could kill you because you were joking, because you annoyed them, because they can. It drives you crazy and you go on a protest because you are 15 years old, your life has just begun and you realise someone might kill you," says Ioanna, who heard of Alexandros(***) death on television [Al Jazeera]

"I felt wronged and this is playing a big part in the rage and the injustice I felt; It is spontaneous when you feel wronged, you react or you shut up and I don(***)t like the second," says Vlasis who knew Alexandros through friends [Al Jazeera]

"People(***)s rage was huge and I felt for the first time in my life the frustrations, the injustice at the sight of a child killed by a bullet," Basilis says [Al Jazeera]

"People who had never been on a protest wanted to be there," says Ioanna [Al Jazeera]

Eva was only 13 years old during the 2008 riots. Her house was in the middle of the riot zone in central Athens [Al Jazeera]

"It was strange living here, tension all the time and the windows shut because of the teargas," says Eva [Al Jazeera]

"It was a war zone. Cars exploding, shop fronts burning. For 10 days it was fire and stones everywhere," Basilis says [GALLO/GETTY]

"It was an unbelievable movement of thousands of people attacking police stations even in small islands," says Vlasis [Al Jazeera]

"Everyone, students included, found it very logical to throw a stone or anything else at the police," says Giorgos [EPA]

"The streets belonged to the riot police and the protesters demanding the murder be condemned," says Vlasis [EPA]

"The first week we believed this [the protests] would change the world," says Stella [GALLO/GETTY]

December 2008 became a turning point for the Alexandros generation - redefining their lives and their hopes [EPA]

"For me it was the bitter end. We went out and made the streets our own for a whole month and then it was as if we didn(***)t know what to do next. We said let(***)s allow things to return to normality and we will see," says Giorgos of the way the riots came to an end [GALLO/GETTY]

Three years later, Vlasis has found a way to express his anger and frustration at the society he blames for Alexandros(***) death through music [Al Jazeera]

"Alexandros(***) death was not the main cause for the December uprising, it was the last straw for the rage that society already felt," says Basilis [Al Jazeera]

In 2011, many of the young people involved in the 2008 riots are back on the streets, protesting against government cuts as Greece(***)s financial crisis worsens [Al Jazeera]

"People feel sick and tired. They have had enough. You send your child to school, but you cannot afford private tuition because you have lost your job. And at the hospital you have to bribe someone even for a camp bed," says Giorgos [GALLO/GETTY]

Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman who killed Alexandros, was sentenced to life in prison, but this is of little comfort to the children who lived through the riots [EPA]

"On the street I avoid looking at them [the police]; they make me sick. I would never ask for their help; that is from another age," says Eva [Al Jazeera]

"The role of the police today is for crime, not against it. It is not a crime to dream of a better world or protest against injustice. Crime is when people who represent the state go beyond the law and commit murder," says Vlasis [GALLO/GETTY]

"For me the best future would be no authority, just ourselves for us. Together we create everything; no more representatives," says Stella [Al Jazeera]

"December 2008 left a sense of something unfinished and it is happening now. I would like to see some change; the whole country feels depressed," says Giorgos [EPA]

In December 2008, 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulus was shot dead by a policeman [Al Jazeera]

The teenager(***)s death plunged Athens, the Greek capital, into three weeks of violent riots [GALLO/GETTY]

On the frontlines of these riots were children; some of them knew Alexandros, a few of them had witnessed his death, all of them felt that he was their friend [GALLO/GETTY]

Giorgos had been with Alexandros just before he was killed. He had just left his friend to go to a party when he heard gunshots. By the time he reached Alexandros he had been shot [Al Jazeera]

Basilis was at home with some friends when they heard a big explosion and then two smaller ones. They assumed it was children playing with firecrackers [Al Jazeera]

Stella, then 14 years old, was playing with friends at a nearby square when Alexandros was shot dead [Al Jazeera]

"It could have been us. These words led students to protest. I am the same age, I might have been there," says Stella [EPA]

"Without reason someone could kill you because you were joking, because you annoyed them, because they can. It drives you crazy and you go on a protest because you are 15 years old, your life has just begun and you realise someone might kill you," says Ioanna, who heard of Alexandros(***) death on television [Al Jazeera]

"I felt wronged and this is playing a big part in the rage and the injustice I felt; It is spontaneous when you feel wronged, you react or you shut up and I don(***)t like the second," says Vlasis who knew Alexandros through friends [Al Jazeera]

"People(***)s rage was huge and I felt for the first time in my life the frustrations, the injustice at the sight of a child killed by a bullet," Basilis says [Al Jazeera]

"People who had never been on a protest wanted to be there," says Ioanna [Al Jazeera]

Eva was only 13 years old during the 2008 riots. Her house was in the middle of the riot zone in central Athens [Al Jazeera]

"It was strange living here, tension all the time and the windows shut because of the teargas," says Eva [Al Jazeera]

"It was a war zone. Cars exploding, shop fronts burning. For 10 days it was fire and stones everywhere," Basilis says [GALLO/GETTY]

"It was an unbelievable movement of thousands of people attacking police stations even in small islands," says Vlasis [Al Jazeera]

"Everyone, students included, found it very logical to throw a stone or anything else at the police," says Giorgos [EPA]

"The streets belonged to the riot police and the protesters demanding the murder be condemned," says Vlasis [EPA]

"The first week we believed this [the protests] would change the world," says Stella [GALLO/GETTY]

December 2008 became a turning point for the Alexandros generation - redefining their lives and their hopes [EPA]

"For me it was the bitter end. We went out and made the streets our own for a whole month and then it was as if we didn(***)t know what to do next. We said let(***)s allow things to return to normality and we will see," says Giorgos of the way the riots came to an end [GALLO/GETTY]

Three years later, Vlasis has found a way to express his anger and frustration at the society he blames for Alexandros(***) death through music [Al Jazeera]

"Alexandros(***) death was not the main cause for the December uprising, it was the last straw for the rage that society already felt," says Basilis [Al Jazeera]

In 2011, many of the young people involved in the 2008 riots are back on the streets, protesting against government cuts as Greece(***)s financial crisis worsens [Al Jazeera]

"People feel sick and tired. They have had enough. You send your child to school, but you cannot afford private tuition because you have lost your job. And at the hospital you have to bribe someone even for a camp bed," says Giorgos [GALLO/GETTY]

Epaminondas Korkoneas, the policeman who killed Alexandros, was sentenced to life in prison, but this is of little comfort to the children who lived through the riots [EPA]

"On the street I avoid looking at them [the police]; they make me sick. I would never ask for their help; that is from another age," says Eva [Al Jazeera]

"The role of the police today is for crime, not against it. It is not a crime to dream of a better world or protest against injustice. Crime is when people who represent the state go beyond the law and commit murder," says Vlasis [GALLO/GETTY]

"For me the best future would be no authority, just ourselves for us. Together we create everything; no more representatives," says Stella [Al Jazeera]

"December 2008 left a sense of something unfinished and it is happening now. I would like to see some change; the whole country feels depressed," says Giorgos [EPA]